● Covered by 9 sources · 10 reportsMedium impact6 negative4 neutral
New Mexico Court Orders Meta to Pay $25 Billion Penalty in Cambridge Analytica-Related Case
Key points
- Meta ordered to pay $25 billion by a New Mexico court.
- Penalty stems from a data privacy case related to Cambridge Analytica.
- A jury found Meta liable for 43 million violations of state law.
- Violations concerned misleading statements on user data and harmful content.
- Meta plans to appeal the court's decision.
- The court filing was released on Wednesday.
- State District Court Judge Francis Mathew reduced the penalty from an initial $220 billion to $25 billion.
- Meta will be charged 15% annual interest on the amount until paid.
- The case is tied to Facebook sharing 87 million users' data with Cambridge Analytica.
- Cambridge Analytica used data to create psychological profiles of voters for targeted advertising in the 2016 presidential election.
- New Mexico's litigation focused on what Facebook told consumers about data practices and combating misinformation and hate speech.
- Judge Francis Mathew wrote that Facebook's wrongdoing goes to the heart of its core business practices.
- Meta's net income was below expectations due to a $9.9 billion settlement payment.
- Meta agreed to pay $17 billion in August to settle a nationwide lawsuit.
- Judge Francis J. Mathew wrote that Facebook's deception was intentional and executives misled users.
- State Attorney General Raúl Torrez said the judgment is a warning to tech companies.
- Meta stated the ruling makes it impossible to do business in New Mexico.
- The case was filed in 2021.
- Data was collected via a personality quiz app called "thisisyourdigitallife."
- Around 300,000 users took the psychological test.
- The fine is the largest ever against Meta.
- Meta's deception of users regarding data control, third-party data misuse, misinformation, and hate speech dates back to 2010.
- New Mexico had asked for fines up to $40 billion.
- Mark Zuckerberg was aware of misleading public representations.
- The ruling could encourage further litigation against Meta and other tech companies.
- Meta's chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney stated the company is confident it will prevail on appeal.
- C.J. Mahoney called New Mexico's lawsuit an attempt to impose 'a tax on speech'.
Court Imposes Significant Penalty
A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion penalty in a data privacy case. This decision follows a September jury verdict in Santa Fe, which found Meta liable for misleading state citizens regarding user data protection and the prevention of harmful information on its services. The ruling marks a significant legal penalty for the company.
The state was initially awarded $219.5 billion, based on 43 million violations of the state's unfair practices act, with each transgression carrying a civil penalty as high as $5,000. However, a New Mexico judge reduced the final penalty to $25 billion. Meta will also be charged 15% annual interest on this amount until it is paid.
Cambridge Analytica Scandal Connection
The case is linked to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which became public nearly a decade ago. The scandal involved the British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica harvesting data from millions of Facebook accounts to create psychological profiles of voters for targeted advertising, notably during the 2016 presidential election.
While the 2021 lawsuit was not directly about the data harvested by Cambridge Analytica, it targeted Facebook's statements over the years regarding user data, privacy settings, and content moderation. The jury's findings highlighted Meta's "extraordinary number of willful violations," the duration and repetition of the conduct, and the involvement of senior Facebook leadership.
Basis of the Violations
The jury concluded that Meta committed 43 million violations of New Mexico's consumer protection laws. These violations centered on the company's role in deceiving resident users about its data privacy practices, its handling of a third-party app linked to the Cambridge Analytica data breach, and its efforts to mitigate misinformation and hate speech on its platform.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated that holding "Big Tech accountable" has been a long time coming.
Meta's Response
Meta has indicated its intention to appeal the court's decision. The company stated that the ruling makes it difficult to operate in New Mexico. This penalty is significantly more than Meta agreed to pay in a recent kids online safety settlement.
Updates
- The ruling could encourage further litigation against Meta and other tech companies.
- Meta's chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney stated the company is confident it will prevail on appeal.
- C.J. Mahoney called New Mexico's lawsuit an attempt to impose 'a tax on speech'.
- The case was filed in 2021.
- Data was collected via a personality quiz app called "thisisyourdigitallife."
- Around 300,000 users took the psychological test.
- The fine is the largest ever against Meta.
- Meta's deception of users regarding data control, third-party data misuse, misinformation, and hate speech dates back to 2010.
- New Mexico had asked for fines up to $40 billion.
- Mark Zuckerberg was aware of misleading public representations.
- The court filing was released on Wednesday.
- State District Court Judge Francis Mathew reduced the penalty from an initial $220 billion to $25 billion.
- Meta will be charged 15% annual interest on the amount until paid.
- The case is tied to Facebook sharing 87 million users' data with Cambridge Analytica.
- Cambridge Analytica used data to create psychological profiles of voters for targeted advertising in the 2016 presidential election.
- New Mexico's litigation focused on what Facebook told consumers about data practices and combating misinformation and hate speech.
- Judge Francis Mathew wrote that Facebook's wrongdoing goes to the heart of its core business practices.
- Meta's net income was below expectations due to a $9.9 billion settlement payment.
- Meta agreed to pay $17 billion in August to settle a nationwide lawsuit.
- Judge Francis J. Mathew wrote that Facebook's deception was intentional and executives misled users.
- State Attorney General Raúl Torrez said the judgment is a warning to tech companies.
- Meta stated the ruling makes it impossible to do business in New Mexico.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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How outlets covered it
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion for misleading users regarding data protection and content moderation, stemming from the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal. This ruling significantly exceeds a previous $17 billion multi-state settlement and could encourage further litigation against Meta and other tech companies.
A New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $25 billion for nearly 44 million violations of state consumer protection laws, after the state's Attorney General declined to join an $18 billion multistate settlement. The fine is the largest ever against Meta and stems from misleading representations about user data control, third-party data misuse, misinformation, and hate speech since 2010.
A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in penalties for 43 million violations of the state's unfair practices law, stemming from the 2018 Cambridge Analytica data scandal. This ruling follows previous fines and settlements related to Meta's handling of user data and misleading statements about privacy.
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found the company liable for deceiving users about Facebook privacy. This ruling follows a finding of over 43 million violations of consumer protection laws related to misleading statements about user data handling, stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion after a jury found the company misled consumers regarding the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. This ruling follows a verdict that Meta made 43 million violations of New Mexico's consumer protection laws, contributing to a trend of large settlements impacting Meta's financial performance.
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in penalties for misleading statements about consumer privacy, user data, and content moderation. This ruling follows a 2021 lawsuit and a jury finding of 43 million violations of the state's Unfair Practices Act, stemming from issues related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in fines for data privacy violations related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The ruling found Meta broke the state's unfair practices law 43 million times by misleading consumers about its data practices and handling of misinformation after sharing user data with Cambridge Analytica.
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion to the state for 43 million violations of consumer protection laws related to its data privacy practices, including issues stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Meta plans to appeal the decision, stating the ruling makes it difficult to operate in New Mexico.
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in penalties for over 43 million violations of the state's unfair practices law, stemming from the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. This ruling follows a September jury decision that Meta misled consumers about data protection and misinformation, marking a significant legal penalty for the company.
A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion penalty in a data privacy case stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. A jury found Meta liable for misleading state citizens about user data safeguards and harmful content, leading to the significant fine.